Radnor approves $660G in change orders for high school project

RADNOR » The ongoing work at Radnor High School is getting more expensive.

Last week, the Radnor School Board held a special meeting to approve over $650,000 in change orders at its high school renovation project due to an excessive level of a regulated mineral in the soil and the need to relocate a water main.

The change orders are connected to the accessibility and wellness infrastructure project at the high school.

The renovations at the school are described on the district’s website as, “the estimated $29.7 million Radnor High School ADA Accessibility and Wellness Infrastructure Project will address outdated and inaccessible facilities at Prevost and Encke fields, including new bleachers/seating on both fields, new walkways/ ramps, and an adequately sized concession stand/field house between the fields, as well as the RHS pool area, fitness room, and locker rooms/bathrooms, among other areas.

“Upon completion of the project, currently estimated for Fall 2022, students, parents and community members from Radnor and surrounding school districts will experience fully accessible, navigable, and renewed facilities developed using the principals of ‘inclusive design.’”

The two change orders approved this week by the school board add up to $660,446.

To help offset any unexpected increases from change orders, the district included $1.6 million of contingency costs into the project. At the end of July, they will still have $1 million for any additional cost overruns.

One change order approved this week for $334,208 was to relocate about 500 feet of an eightinch water main that would have been under new construction.

Bill Dolan, director of operations for the school district, said the water main went through areas where construction was planned. At first the district considered leaving it and building over it.

“It would be more expensive to do it,” Dolan said. “We would be putting a 60-year-old metal line … underneath a new property, and it was going to fail, and then we were going to dig up new stuff to replace it.”

The other change order is related to the disposal of regulated soil that has to be removed from the site.

Dolan said most of the dirt is coming from Prevost Field. Contractors have removed dirt for the stormwater management system. The district estimated about 10,000 cubic yards of soil needed to be relocated.

The dirt was removed from the site as work was being done. During its initial assessment, the soil was tested and indicated it was not contaminated. However, the place that was going to take the dirt required additional testing.

“They came back not clean soil but regulated soil. The 13 samples were taken. All 13 of them showed a presence of vanadium, which is a naturally occurring mineral in the soil and is common in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” Dolan said.

One of the problems the district faced was that last year regulators lowered the parts per million of vanadium that could be in the soil for it to be considered clean. Had the project been done two years ago, there would not have been an issue with the soil.

According to Dolan, the district got an estimate of nearly $750,000 to dispose of the soil properly. While looking for cheaper alternatives, the district stockpiled it on-site.

Now they’ve decided that a cheaper and still safe alternative is to keep the soil on site. The district identified three areas for the dirt: the backside of the visitor bleachers, along the TAP trail and a small area on Loop Field.

Most of the dirt would be placed along the TAP trail and create a hill overlooking a soccer field.

“This wasn’t on our initial plan, but I think it’s a real creative solution for the soil we need to keep on-site,” Dolan said. The change order for the soil is $326,258.